Bt MA C.E.Richardson. \. A L j O cat. c THE BRAVO. VOL. I. LONDON : HENRY BAYL1S, JOHKSON'S-COURT, FLEET-STREET. THE BRAVO A VENETIAN STORY. BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE PILOT," "THE BORDERERS," "THE WATER WITCH," &c. " Giustizia in palazzo, E pane in piazza." IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1831. $ PREFACE. IT is to be regretted the world did not dis criminate more justly in its use of political terms. Governments are usually called either monarchies or republics. The former class embraces equally those institutions in which the sovereign is worshipped as a God, and those in which he performs the humble office of a mannekin. In the latter we find aristocra cies and democracies blended in the same generic appellation. The consequence of a VOL. i. a 11 PREFACE. generalization so wide is an utter confusion on the subject of the polity of states. The author has endeavoured to give his countrymen, in this book, a picture of the social system of one of the soi»disant republics of the other hemisphere. There has been no attempt to pourtray historical characters, only too fictitious in their graver dress, but simply to set forth the familiar operatives of Venetian policy. For the justification of his likeness, after allowing the defects of execution, he refers to the well- known work of M. Daru. A history of the progress of political liberty, written purely in the interests of humanity, is still a desideratum in literature. In nations which have made a false commencement, it would be found that the citizen, or rather the subject, has extorted immunity after immunity, as his growing intelligence and importance have both instructed and required him to de fend those particular rights, which were neces sary to his well-being. A certain accumulation PREFACE. Ill of these immunities constitutes, with a solitary and recent exception in Switzerland, the essence of European liberty, even at this hour. It is scarcely necessary to tell the reader that this freedom, be it more or less, depends on a prin ciple entirely different from our own. Here the immunities do not proceed from, but they are granted to the government, being, in other words, concessions of natural rights made by the people to the state, for the benefits of social protection. So long as this vital difference ex ists between ourselves and other nations, it will be vain to think of finding material analogies in their institutions. It is true that, in an age like this, public opinion is itself a charter, and that the most despotic government which exists within the pale of Christendom, must, in some degree, respect its influence. The mildest and justest governments in Europe are, at this moment, theoretically despotisms. The cha racter of both prince and people enter largely into the consideration of so extraordinary re- IV PREFACE. suits, and it should never be forgotten that, though the character of the latter be sufficiently secure, that of the former is liable to change. But, admitting every benefit which can pos sibly flow from a just administration, with wise and humane princes, a government which is not properly based on the people, possesses an un avoidable and oppressive evil of the first mag nitude — the necessity of supporting itself by physical force and onerous impositions, against the natural action of the majority. Were we to characterize a republic, we should say it was a state in which power, both theoretically and practically, is derived from the nation, with a constant responsibility of the agents of the public to the people ; a respon- x sibility that is neither to be evaded nor de nied. That such a system is better on a large than on a small scale, though contrary to bril liant theories which have been written to uphold different institutions, must be evident on the smallest reflection, since the danger of all PREFACE. V popular governments is from popular mistakes, and a people of diversified interests and ex tended territorial possessions, are much more likely to be their subjects than the inhabitants of a single town or country. If to this defi nition we should add, as an infallible test of the genus, that a true republic is a government of which all others are jealous and vituperative in the instinct of self-preservation, we believe there would be no mistaking the class. How far Venice would have been obnoxious to this proof, the reader is left to judge for himself. a 2 THE BRAVO. CHAPTER I. " I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, A palace and a prison on each hand ; I saw from out the wave her structures rise, As- from the stroke of the enchanter's wand : A thousand years their cloudy wings expand Around me, and a dying glory smiles O'er the far times, when many a subject land Looked to the winged lions' marble piles, Where Venice sate in state, thron'd on her hundred isles." BYRON. THE sun had disappeared behind the sum mits of the Tyrolean Alps, and the moon was VOL. i. B 2 THE BRAVO. already risen above the low barrier of the Lido. Hundreds of pedestrians were pouring out of the narrow streets of Venice into the square of St. Mark, like water gushing through some straight aqueduct, into a broad and bub bling basin. Gallant cavalieri and grave citta- dini; soldiers of Dalmatia, and seamen of the gallies; dames of the city, and females of lighter manners ; jewellers of the Rialto, and traders from the Levant ; Jew, Turk, and Christian ; traveller, adventurer, podesta-j valet, avvocato and gondolier, held their way alike to the common centre of amusement. The hur ried air and careless eye ; the measured step and jealous glance ; the jest and laugh ; the song of the cantatrice, and the melody of the flute ; the grimace of the buffoon, and the tragic frown of the improvisatore; the pyramid of the gro tesque, the compelled and melancholy smile of the harpist, cries of water-sellers, cowls of monks, plumage of warriors, hum of voices the universal movement and bustle, added THE BllAVO. 3 to the more permanent objects of the place, rendered the scene the most remarkable of Christendom. On the very confines of that line which sepa rates western from eastern Europe, and in con stant communication with the latter, Venice possessed a greater admixture of character and costume, than any other of the numerous ports of that region. A portion of this peculiarity is still to be observed, under the fallen fortunes of the place ; but at the period of our tale, the city of the isles, though no longer mistress of the Mediterranean, nor even of the Adriatic, was still rich and powerful. Her influence was felt in the councils of the civilized world, and her commerce, though waning, was yet sufficient to uphold the vast possessions of those families, whose ancestors had become rich in the day of her prosperity. Men lived among her islands in that state of incipient lethargy, which marks the progress of a downward course, whether the decline be of a moral or of a physical decay. B 2 THE BRAVO. At the hour we have named, the vast paral lelogram of the piazza was filling fast, the cafes and casinos within the porticoes, which surround three of its sides, being already thronged with company. While all beneath the arches was gay and brilliant with the flare of torch and lamp, the noble range of edifices called the Procuratories, the massive pile of the Ducal Palace, the most ancient Christian church, the granite columns of the piazzetta, the triumphal masts of the great square, and the giddy tower of the campanile, were slumbering in the more mellow glow of the moon. Facing the wide area of the great square stood the quaint and venerable cathedral of San Marco. A temple of trophies, and one equally proclaiming the prowess and the piety of its founders, this remarkable structure presided over the other fixtures of the place, like a mo nument of the republic's antiquity and great ness. Its Saracenic architecture, the rows of precious but useless little columns that load THE BRAVO. 5 its front, the low Asiatic domes which rest upon its walls in the repose of a thousand years, the rude and gaudy mosaics, and above all the captured horses of Corinth, which start from out the sombre mass in the glory of Grecian art, received from the solemn and appropriate light, a character of melancholy and mystery, that well comported with the thick recollections which crowd the mind as the eye gazes at this rare relic of the past. As fit companions to this edifice the other peculiar ornaments of the place stood at han ~ The base of the campanile lay in shadow, but a hundred feet of its grey summit received the full rays of the moon along its eastern face. The masts destined to bear the con quered ensigns of Candia, Constantinople, and the Morea, cut the air by its side, in dark and fairy lines, while at the extremity of the smal ler square, and near the margin of the sea, the forms of the winged lion and the patron saint of the city, each on his column of African 6 THE BRAVO. granite, were distinctly traced against the back ground of the azure sky. It was near the base of the former of these massive blocks of stone, that one stood who seemed to gaze at the animated and striking scene, with the listlessness and indifference of satiety. A multitude, some in masques and others careless of being known, had poured along the quay into the piazetta, on their way to the principal square, while this individual had scarce turned a glance aside, or changed I1 limb in weariness. His attitude was that of patient, practised and obedient waiting, on another's pleasure. With folded arms, a body poised on one leg, and a vacant though good- humoured eye, he appeared to attend some beck of authority ere he quitted the spot. A silken jacket, in whose tissue flowers of the gayest colours were interwoven, the falling collar of scarlet, the bright velvet cap with armorial bearings embroidered on its front, proclaimed him Jo be a gondolier in private service. THE BRAVO. 7 Wearied at length with the antics of a dis tant group of tumblers, whose pile of human bodies had for a time arrested his look, this in dividual turned away, and faced the light air from the water. Recognition and pleasure shot into his countenance, and in a moment his arms were interlocked with those of a swarthy mari ner, who wore the loose attire and Phrygian cap of men of his calling. The gondolier was the first to speak, the words flowing from him in the soft accents of his native islands. " Is it thou, Stefano ! They said thou hadst fallen into the gripe of the devils of Barbary, and that thou wast planting flowers for an infidel with thy hands, and watering them with thy tears !" The answer was in the harsher dialect of Ca labria, and it was given with the rough fami liarity of a seaman. " La Bella Sorrentina is no housekeeper of a curato ! She is not a damsel to take a siesta with a Tunisian rover prowling about in 8 THE BRAVO. her neighbourhood. Hadst ever been beyond the Lido, thou wouldst have known the dif ference between chasing the feluca and catch ing her." " Kneel down, and thank San Teodoro for his care. There was much praying on thy decks that hour, caro Stefano, though none is bolder among the mountains of Calabria when thy fe luca is once safely drawn upon the beach !" The mariner cast a half-comic, half-serious glance upward at the image of the patron saint, ere he replied. " There was more need of/ the wings of thy lion than of the favour of thy saint. I never come further north for aid than San Gennaro, even when it blows a hurricane." " So much the worse for thee, caro, since the good bishop is better at stopping the lava than at quieting the winds. But there was danger, then, of losing the feluca and her brave people among the Turks ?" " There was, in truth, a Tunis-man prowling THE BRAVO. about, between Stromboli and Sicily ; but, All di San Michele ! he might better have chased the cloud above the volcano, than run after the feluca in a scirocco !" " Thou wast chicken-hearted, Stefano ?" " I ! — I was more like thy lion, here, with some small additions of chains and muzzles," " As was seen by thy felucca^s speed?" " Cospetto ! I wished myself a knight of San Giovanni a thousand times during the chase, and La Bella Sorrentina a brave Maltese gal ley, if it were only for the cause of Christian honour ! The miscreant hung upon my quarter for the better part of three glasses ; so near, that I could tell which of the knaves wore dirty cloth in his turban, and which clean. It was a sore sight to a Christian, Stefano, to see the right thus borne upon by an infidel." " And thy feet warmed with the thought of the bastinado, caro mio ?" " I have run too often barefoot over our Ca- B 3 10 THE BRAVO. Jabrian mountains, to tingle at the sole with every fancy of that sort."" " Every man has his weak spot, and I know thine to be dread of a Turk's arm. Thy native hills have their soft as well as their hard ground, but it is said the Tunisian chooses a board knotty as his own heart, when he amuses himself with the waitings of a Christian." " Well, the happiest of us all must take such as fortune brings. If my soles are to be shod with blows, the honest priest of Sant' Agata will be cheated of a penitent. I have bargained with the good curato, that all such accidental calamities shall go in the general account of penance. But how fares the world of Venice ? — and what dost thou among the canals at this season, to keep the flowers of thy jacket from wilting ?" " To-day as yesterday, and to-morrow will be as to-day. I row the gondola from the Rialto to the Guidecca ; from San Giorgio to San Marco ; from San Marco to the Lido, THE BRAVO. 11 and from the Lido home. There are no Tunis- men by the way to chill the heart or warm the feet." " Enough of friendship. And is there no thing stirring in the republic ? — no young noble drowned, nor any Jew hanged ?" " Nothing of that much interest — except the calamity which befel Pietro. Thou rememberest Pietrillo ? he who crossed into Dalmatia with thee once, as a supernumerary, the time he was suspected of having aided the young Frenchman in running away with a senator's daughter?" "Do I remember the last famine? The rogue did nothing but eat maccaroni, and swallow the lachrymae christi, which the Dal matian count had on freight." " Poverino ! His gondola has been run down by an Ancona man, who passed over the boat, as if it were a senator stepping on a fly." . " So much for little fish coming into deep water." J2 THE BIIAVO. "The honest fellow was crossing the Giu- decca, with a stranger who had occasion to say his prayers at the Redentore, when the brig hit him in the canopy, and broke up the gondola as if it had been a bubble left by the Bucen- taur." " The padrone should have been too gene rous to complain of Pietro's clumsiness, since it met with its own punishment.1" " Madre di Dio ! He went to sea that hour, or he might be feeding the fishes of the Lagunes ! There is not a gondolier in Venice who did not feel the wrong at his heart ; and we know how to obtain justice for an insult, as well as our masters." " Well, a gondola is mortal, as well as a felucca, and both have their time ; better die by the prow of a brig, than fall into the gripe of a Turk. — How is thy young master, Gino ? and is he likely to obtain his claims of the senate?" " He cools himself in the Giudecca in the THE BRAVO. 13 morning ; and if thou woultPst know what he does at evening, thou hast only to look among the nobles in the Broglio." As the gondolier spoke, he glanced an eye aside, at a group of patrician rank, who paced the gloomy arcades which supported the supe rior walls of the doge's palace, a spot sacred, at times, to the uses of the privileged. " I am no stranger to the habit thy Venetian nobles have of coming to that low colonnade at this hour, but I never before heard of their preferring the waters of the Giudecca for their baths/' " Were even the doge to throw himself out of a gondola, he must sink or swim, like a meaner Christian." u Acqua dell' Adriatico ! Was the young duca going to the Redentore, too, to say his prayers ?" u He was coming back after having — but what matters it in what canal a young noble sighs away the night ! We happened to be near 14 THE BRAVO. when the Ancona-man performed his feat: while Giorgio and I were boiling with rage at the awkwardness of the stranger, my master, who never had much taste or knowledge in gondolas, went into the water to save the young lady from sharing the fate of her uncle." " Diavolo ! This is the first syllable thou hast uttered concerning any young lady, or of the death of her uncle !" " Thou wert thinking of thy Tunis-man, and hast forgotten. I must have told thee how near the beautiful signora was to sharing the fate of the gondola, and how the loss of the Roman marchese weighs, in addition, on the soul of the padrone." " Santo Padre ! That a Christian should die the death of a hunted dog by the carelessness of a gondolier!" " It may have been lucky for the Ancona- man that it so fell out, for they say the Roman was one of influence enough to make a se nator, cross the Bridge of Sighs, at need." THE BRAVO. 15 " The devil take all careless watermen, say I ! — And what became of the awkward rogue?" " I tell thee he went outside the Lido, that very hour, or — " "Pietrello?" He was brought up by the oar of Giorgio, for both of us were active in saving the cushions and other valuables." " Could'st thou do nothing for the poor Roman ? Ill luck may follow that brig on ac count of his death !" "Ill luck follow her, say I, till she lays her bones on some rock that is harder than the heart of her padrone. As for the stranger, we could do no more than offer up a prayer to San Teodoro, since he never rose after the blow. But what has brought thee to Venice, caro mio ? for thy ill-fortune with the oranges, in the last voyage, caused thee to denounce the place." The Calabrian laid a finger on one cheek, and drew the skin down, in a manner to give a droll expression to his dark, comic eye, while 16 THE BRAVO. the whole of his really fine Grecian face was charged with an expression of coarse humour. " Look you, Gino — thy master sometimes calls for his gondola between sunset and morn- ing?" " An owl is not more wakeful than he has been of late. This head of mine has not been on a pillow before the sun has come above the Lido, since the snows melted from Monselice." " And when the sun of thy master's counte nance sets in his own palazzo, thou hastenest off to the bridge of the Rialto, among the jew ellers and butchers, to proclaim the manner in which he passed the night ?" " Diamine ! 'Tvvould be the last night I served the Duca di Sant' Agata were my tongue so limber ! The gondolier and the confessor are the two privy councillors of a noble, Master Stefano, with this small difference — that the last only knows what the sinner wishes to reveal, while the first sometimes knows more. I can find a, safer, if not a more honest employment, THE BJIAVO. 17 than to be running about with my master's se crets in the air." " And I am wiser than to let every Jew broker in San Marco, here, have a peep into my charter-party." " Nay, old acquaintance, there is some differ ence between our occupations, after all. A pa drone of a felucca cannot, in justice, be com pared to ^the most confidential gondolier of a Neapolitan duke, who has an unsettled right to be admitted to the council of three-hundred.1' "Just the difference between smooth water and rough — you ruffle the surface of a canal with a lazy oar, while I run the channel of Piombino in a mistral, shoot the Faro of Mes sina in a white squall, double Santa Maria de Leuca in a breathing Levanter, and come skim ming up the Adriatic, before a scirocco that is hot enough to cook my maccaroni, and which sets the whole sea boiling worse than the caul drons of Scylla." uHist!" eagerly interrupted the gondolier, 18 THE BRAVO. who had indulged, with Italian humour, in the controversy for pre-eminence, though without any real feeling; "here comes one who may may think, else, we shall have need of his hand to settle the dispute— Eccolo !" The Calabrian recoiled a pace, in silence, and stood regarding the individual who had caused this hurried remark, with a gloomy but steady air. The stranger moved slowly past. His years were under thirty, though the calm gravity of his countenance, imparted to it a character of more mature age. The cheeks were bloodless, but they betrayed rather the pallid hue of mental than of bodily disease. The perfect condition of the physical man was sufficiently exhibited, in the muscular fulness of a body, which, though light and active, gave every indication of strength. His step was firm, assured and even ; his carriage erect and easy, and his whole mien was strongly charac terized by a self-possession that could scarcely escape observation. And yet his attire was that THE BRAVO. 19 of an inferior class. A doublet of common velvet, a dark Montero cap, such as was then much used in the southern countries of Europe, with other vestments of a similar fashion, com posed his dress. The face was melancholy rather than sombre, and its perfect repose accorded well with the striking calmness of the body. The lineaments of the former, however, were bold and even noble, exhibiting that strong and manly outline which is so characteristic of the finer class of the Italian countenance. Out of this striking array of features gleamed an eye, that was full of brilliancy, meaning, and passion. As the stranger passed, his glittering organs rolled over the persons of the gondolier and his companion, but the look, though searching, was entirely without interest. 'Twas the wan dering but wary glance, which men, who have much reason for distrust, habitually cast on a multitude. It turned, with the same jealous keenness, on the face of the next it encoun tered, and by the time the steady and well 20 THE BRAVO. balanced form was lost in the crowd , that quick and glowing eye had gleamed, in the same rapid and uneasy manner, on twenty others. Neither the gondolier, nor the mariner of Calabria spoke, until their riveted gazes, after the retiring figure, became useless. Then the former simply ejaculated, with a strong respi ration — " Jacopo r His companion raised three of his fingers, with an occult meaning, towards the palace of the doges. " Do they let him take the air, even in San Marco ?" he asked, in unfeigned surprise. " It is not easy, caro amico, to make water run up stream, or to stop the downward cur rent. It is said that most of the senators would sooner lose their hopes of the horned bonnet, than lose him. Jacopo ! He knows more family secrets than the good Priore of San Marco himself, and he, poor man, is half his time in the confessional." THE BRAVO. 21 u Ay, they are afraid to put him in an iron jacket, lest awkward secrets should be squeezed out." " Corpo di Bacco ! there would be little peace in Venice, if the Council of Three should take it into their heads to loosen the tongue of yonder man in that rude manner." u But they say, Gino, that thy Council of Three has a fashion of feeding the fishes of the Lagunes, which might throw the suspicion of his death on some unhappy Ancona-man. were the body ever to come up again." " Well, no need of bawling it aloud, as if thou wert hailing a Sicilian through thy trum pet, though the fact should be so. To say the truth, there are few men in business who are thought to have more custom than he who has just gone up the piazzetta." 66 Two sequins !" rejoined the Calabrian, en forcing his meaning by a significant grimace. " Santa Madonna ! Thou forgettest, Stefano, that not even the confessor has any trouble 22 THE BRAVO. with a job in which he has been employed. Not a caratano less than a hundred will buy a stroke of his art. Your blows, for two sequins, leave a man leisure to tell tales, or even to say his prayers half the time." " Jacopo !" ejaculated the other, with an emphasis which seemed to be a sort of summing up of all his aversion and horror. The gondolier shrugged his shoulders, with quite as much meaning as a man born on the shores of the Baltic could have conveyed by words ; but he, too, appeared to think the mat ter exhausted. " Stefano Milano," he added, after a mo ment of pause, " there are things in Venice which he, who would eat his maccaroni in peace, would do well to forget. Let thy errand in port be what it may, thou art in good season to witness the regatta which will be given by the state, itself, to-morrow." " Hast thou an oar for that race ?" ," Giorgio's, or mine, under the patronage of THE BRAVO. 23 San Teodoro. The prize will be a silver gon dola to him who is lucky or skilful enough to win ; and then we shall have the nuptials with the Adriatic." " Thy nobles had best woo the bride well, for there are heretics who lay claim to her good will. I met a rover of strange rig and mira culous fleetness, in rounding the headlands of Otranto, who seemed to have half a mind to follow the felucca in her path toward the Lagunes/' " Did the sight warm thee at the soles of thy feet, Gino dear ?" " There was not a turbaned head on his deck, but every sea-cap set upon a well-covered poll and a shorn chin. Thy Bucentaur is no longer the bravest craft that floats between Dalmatia and the islands, though her gilding may glitter brightest. There are men beyond the Pillars of Hercules who are not satisfied with doing all that can be done on their own coasts, but who are pretending to do much of that which can be done on ours." 24 THE BRAVO. " The republic is a little aged, caro, and years need rest. The joints of the Bucentaur are racked by time and many voyages to the JLido. I have heard my master say that the leap of the winged lion is not as far as it was, even in his young days." " Don Camillo has the reputation of talking boldly of the foundations of this city of piles, when he has the roof of old Sant' Agata safely over his head. Were he to speak more reve rently of the horned bonnet, and of the Coun cil of Three, his pretensions to succeed to the rights of his forefathers might seem juster in the eyes of his judges. But distance is a great mellower of colours, and softener of fears. My own opinion of the speed of the felucca, and of the merits of a Turk, undergo changes of this sort between port and the open sea ; and I have known thee, good Gino, forget San Teo- doro, and bawl as lustily to San Gennaro, when at Naples, as if thou really fancied thyself in danger from the mountain." THE BRAVO. 25 " One must speak to those at hand, in order to be quickest heard," rejoined the gondolier, casting a glance that was partly humorous, and not without superstition, upwards at the image which crowned the granite column against whose pedestal he still leaned. " A truth which warns us to be prudent, for yonder Jew cast a look this way, as if he felt a con scientious scruple in letting any irreverend remark of ours go without reporting. The bearded old rogue is said to have other dealings with the Three Hundred besides asking for the monies he has lent to their sons. And so, Stefano, thou thinkest the republic will never plant another mast of triumph in San Mar co, or bring more trophies to the venerable church r " Napoli herself, with her constant change of masters, is as likely to do a great act on the sea, as thy winged beast, just now ! Thou art well enough to row a gondola in the canals, Gino, or to follow thy master to his Calabrian castle ; • VOL. i. c 26 THE BRAVO. but if thou wouldst know what passes in the wide world, thou must be content to listen to mariners of the long course. The day of San Marco has gone by, and that of the heretics more north has come.*' " Thou hast been much, of late, among the lying Genoese, Stefano, that thou comest hither with these idle tales of what a heretic can do. Genova la Superba ! What has a city of walls to compare with one of canals and islands, like this? — and what has that Appenine republic performed, to be put in comparison with the great deeds of the Queen of the Adriatic ? Thou forgettest that Venezia has been — " " Zitto, zitto ! that has been, caro mio, is a great word with all Italy. Thou art as proud of the past, as a Roman of the Trastevere." " And the Roman of the Trastevere is right. Is it nothing, Stefano Milano, to be descended from a great and victorious people ?" *c It is better, Gino Monaldi, to be one of a people which is great and victorious just THE BRAVO. 2J now. The enjoyment of the past is like the pleasure of the fool who dreams of the wine he drank yesterday." " This is well for a Neapolitan, whose coun try never was a nation," returned the gondolier, angrily. " I have heard Don Camillo, who is one educated as well as born in the land, often say that half of the people of Europe have ridden the horse of Sicily, and used the legs of thy Napoli, except those who had the best right to the services of both." c% Even so ; and yet the figs are as sweet as ever, and the beccatichi as tender ! The ashes of the volcano cover all I" " Gino," said a voice of authority, near the gondolier. " Signore." He who interrupted the dialogue pointed to the boat, without saying more. " A rivederti," hastily muttered the gondolier. His friend squeezed his hand in perfect amity — c2 28 THE BEAVQ. for, in truth, they were countrymen by birth, though chance had trained the former on the canals — and, at the next instant, Gino was ar ranging the cushions for his master, having first aroused his subordinate brother of the oar from a profound sleep, THE BRAVO. 29 CHAPTER II. Hast ever swam in a gondola at Venice ? SHAKSPEARE. WHEN Don Camillo Monforte entered the gondola, he did not take his seat in the pavilion. With an arm leaning on the top of the canopy, and his cloak thrown loosely over one shoulder, the young noble stood, in a musing attitude, until his dexterous servitors had extricated the boat from the little fleet which crowded the quay, and had urged it into open water. This 30 THE BRAVO. duty performed, Gino touched his scarlet cap, and looked at his master, as if to inquire the direction in which they were to proceed. He was answered by a silent gesture, that indicated the route of the great canal. " Thou hast an ambition, Gino, to shew thy skill in the regatta?" Don Camillo observed, when they had made a little progress. " The motive merits success. Thou wast speaking to a stranger, when I summoned thee to the gondola ?" " I was asking the news of our Calabrian hills, from one who has come into port with his feluca ; though the man took the name of San Gennaro to witness that his former luckless voyage should be the last." " How does he call his feluca, and what is the name of the padrone ?" " La Bella Sorrentina, commanded by a cer tain Stefano Milano, son of an ancient servant of Sant* Agata. The bark is none of the worst for speed, and it has some reputation for beauty. THE BRAVO. 31 It ought to be of happy fortune, too, for the good curato recommended it, with many a devout prayer, to the Virgin, and to San Fran cesco." The noble appeared to lend more attention to the discourse, which, until now, on his part, had been commenced in the listless manner with which a superior encourages an indulged de pendant. " La Bella Sorrentina ! Have I not reason to know the bark ?" " Nothing more true, Signore. Her padrone has relations at Sant' Agata, as I have told your eccellenza, and his vessel has lain on the beach, near the castle, many a bleak winter." " What brings him to Venice ?" " That is what I would give my newest jacket of your eccellenca's colours to know, Signore. I have as little wish to inquire into other people's affairs as any one, and I very well know that discretion is the chief virtue of a gondolier. I ventured, however, a deadly 32 THE BRAVO. hint concerning his errand, such as ancient neighbourhood would warrant, but he was as cautious of his answers as if he were freighted with the confessions of fifty Christians. Now, if your eccellenza should see fit to give me authority to question him, in your name, the deuce is in't if, between respect for his lord, and good management, we could not draw some thing more than a false bill of lading from him.11 et Thou wilt take thy choice of my gondolas for the regatta, Gino," observed the Duke of Sant' Agata, entering the pavilion, and throw ing himself on the glossy black leathern cushions, without adverting to the suggestion of his servant. The gondola continued its noiseless course, with the sprite-like movement peculiar to that description of boat. Gino, who, as superior over his fellow, stood perched on the little arched deck in the stern, pushed his oar with accustomed readiness and skill, now causing the light vessel to sheer to the right, and now to the THE BRAVO. 33 left, as it glided among the multitude of crafts, of all sizes and uses, which it met in its passage. Palace after palace had been passed, and more than one of the principal canals, which diverged towards the different spectacles, or the other places of resort frequented by his master, were left behind, without Don Camillo giving any new direction. At length the boat arrived opposite to a building, which seemed to excite more than common expectation. Giorgio worked his oar with a single hand, looking over his shoulder at Gino, and Gino permitted his blade fairly to trail on the water. Both seemed to await new orders, manifesting something like that species of instinctive sympathy with him they served, which a long practised horse is apt to shew when he draws near a gate, that is seldom passed unvisited by his driver. The edifice which caused this hesitation in the two gondoliers, was one of those residences of Venice, which are quite as remarkable for their external riches and ornaments, as for their c 8 34 THE BRAVO. singular situation amid the waters. A massive rustic basement of marble was seated as solidly in the element, as if it grew from a living rock, while story was seemingly raised on story, in the wanton observance of the most capricious rules of a meretricious architecture, until the pile reached an altitude that is little known, except in the dwellings of princes. Colonnades, medal lions, and massive cornices, overhung the canal, as if the art of man had taken pride in loading the superstructure in a manner to mock the unstable element which concealed its base. A flight of steps, on which each gentle undulation produced by the passage of the barge washed a wave, conducted to a vast vestibule, that answered many of the purposes of a court. Two or three gondolas were moored near, but the absence of their people shewed they were for the use of those who dwelt within. The boats were protected from rough collision with the passing craft, by piles driven obliquely into the bottom. Similar spars, with painted and JHE BRAVO. 35 ornamented heads, that sometimes bore the colours and arms of the proprietor, formed a sort of little haven for the gondolas of the household, before the door of every dwelling of mark. " Where is it the pleasure of your e ccellenza to be rowed ?" asked Gino, when he found his sympathetic delay had produced no order. « To the Palazzo." Giorgio threw a glance of surprise back at his comrade, but the obedient gondola shot by the gloomy, though rich abode, as if the little bark had suddenly obeyed an inward impulse. In a moment more, it whirled aside, and the hollow sound, caused by the plash of water between high walls, announced its entrance into a nar rower canal. With shortened oars, the men still urged the boat a-head, now turning short into some new channel, now glancing beneath a low bridge, and now uttering, in the sweet shrill tones of the country and their craft, the well- known warning to those who were darting in an 36 THE BRAVO. opposite direction. A back stroke of Gino's oar, however, soon brought the side of the arrested boat to a flight of steps. " Thou wilt follow me," said Don Camillo, as he placed his foot, with the customary caution. on the moist stone, and laid a hand on the shoulder of Gino ; "I have need of thee." Neither the vestibule, nor the entrance, nor the other visible accessaries of the dwelling, were so indicative of luxury and wealth as that of the palace on the great canal. Still, they were all such as denoted the residence of a noble of consideration. " Thou wilt do wisely, Gino, to trust thy fortunes to the new gondola," said the master, as he mounted the heavy stone stairs, to an upper floor, pointing as he spoke to a new and beautiful boat, which lay in a corner of the large vestibule, as carriages are seen standing in the courts of houses built on more solid ground. " He who would find favour with Jupiter, must put his own shoulder to the wheel, thou knowest, my friend." THE. BRAVO. 37 The eye of Gino brightened, and he was voluble in his expression of thanks. They had ascended to the first floor, and were already deep in a suite of gloomy apartments, before the gratitude and professional pride of the gondolier were exhausted. " Aided by a powerful arm and a fleet gon dola, thy chance will be as good as another's, Gino," said Don Camillo, closing the door of his cabinet on his servant; "at present, thou mayest give some proof of zeal in my service, in another manner. Is the face of a man called Jacopo Frontoni known to thee ?" (( Eccellenza !" exclaimed the gondolier, gasp ing for breath. " I ask thee if thou knowest the countenance of one named Frontoni I "' u His countenance, Signore !" "By what else wouldst thou distinguish a man ?" " A man, Signer' Don Camillo !" " Art thou mocking thy master, Gino ! I 38 THE BRAVO. have asked thee if thou art acquainted with the person of a certain Jacopo Frontoni ; a dweller here in Venice ?" " Eccellenza, yes." " He I mean has been long remarked by the misfortunes of his family, the father being now in exile on the Dalmatian coast, or elsewhere." " Eccellenza, yes." il There are many of the name of Frontoni, and it is important that thou shouldst not mis take the man. Jacopo, of that family, is a youth of some five-and-twenty, of an active frame and melancholy visage, and of less viva city of temperament than is wont, at his years." " Eccellenza, yes." " One who resorts but little with his fellows, and who is rather noted for the silence and industry with which he attends to his concerns, than for any of the usual pleasantries and trifling of men of his cast. A certain Jacopo Frontoni, that hath his abode somewhere near the arsenal :" THE BRAVO. 39 " Cospetto ! Signer' Duca, the man is as well known to us gondoliers, as the bridge of the Rialto ! Your eccellenza has no need to trouble yourself to describe him." Don Camillo Monforte was searching among the papers of a secretary. He raised his eyes, in some little amazement, at the sally of his dependant, and then he quietly resumed his occupation. " If thou knowest the man, it is enough." " Eccellenza, yes. And what is your plea sure with this accursed Jacopo ?" The Duke of Sant' Agata seemed to recollect himself. He replaced the papers which had been deranged, and he closed the secretary. 44 Gino,v he said, in a tone of confidence and amity, " thou wert born on my estates, though so long trained here to the oar in Venice, and thou hast passed thy life in my service." " Eccellenza, yes." " It is my desire that thou shouldst end thy days where they began. I have had much 40 THE BRAVO. confidence in thy discretion, hitherto, and I have satisfaction in saying it has never failed thee, notwithstanding thou hast necessarily been a witness of some exploits of youth, which might have drawn embarrassment on thy master, were thy tongue less disposed to silence." " Eccellenza, yes." Don Camillo smiled ; but the gleam of hu mour gave way to a look of grave and anxious thought. " As thou knowest the person of him I have named, our affair is simple. Take this packet," he continued, placing a sealed letter of more than usual size into the hand of the gondolier, and drawing from his finger a signet ring, " with this token of thy authority. Within that arch of the Doge's palace, which leads to the canal of San Marco, beneath the Bridge of Sighs, thou wilt find Jacopo. Give him the packet ; and should he demand it, withhold not the ring. Wait his bidding, and return with the answer." THE BRAVO. 41 Gino received this commission with profound respect, but with an awe he could not conceal. Habitual deference to his master appeared to struggle with deep distaste for the office he was required to perform ; and there was even some manifestation of a more principled reluctance, in his hesitating yet humble manner. If Don Camillo noted the air and countenance of his menial at all, he effectually concealed it. " At the arched passage of the palace, beneath the Bridge of Sighs," he coolly ad ded ; " and let thy arrival there be timed, as near as may be, to the first hour of the night." " I would, Signore, that you had been pleased to command Giorgio and me to row you to Padua !" " The way is long. Why this sudden wish to weary thyself?" " Because there is no Doge^s palace, nor any Bridge of Sighs, nor any dog of Jacopo Fron- toni, among the meadows.'' 42 THE BRAVO. " Thou hast little relish for this duty ; but thou must know that what the master com mands, it is the duty of a faithful follower to perform. Thou wert born my vassal, Gino Monaldi, and though trained from boyhood in this occupation of a gondolier, thou art pro perly a being of my fiefs, in Napoli." " St. Gennaro make me grateful for the honour, Signore ! But there is not a water- seller in the streets of Venice, nor a mariner on her canals, who does not wish this Jacopo any where but in the bosom of Abraham. He is the terror of every young lover, and of all the urgent creditors on the islands." " Thou seest, silly babbler, there is one of the former, at least, who does not hold him in dread. Thou wilt seek him beneath the Bridge of Sighs, and, shewing the signet, deliver the package according to my instructions." " It is certain loss of character to be seen speaking with the miscreant ! So lately as yes terday, I heard Annina, the pretty daughter THE BRAVO. 4d of the old wine-seller on the Lido, declare, that to be seen once in company with Jacopo Fron- toni was as bad as to be caught twice bringing old rope from the arsenal, as befel Roderigo, her mother's cousin." " Thy distinctions savour of the morals of the Lido. Remember to exhibit the ring, lest he distrust thy errand." " Could not your eccellenza set me about clipping the wings of the lion, or painting a better picture than Tiziano di Vecelli ? I have a mortal dislike even to pass the mere compli ments of the day with one of your cut- throats. We^re any of our gondoliers to see me in dis course with the man, it might exceed your eccellenza's influence to get me a place in the regatta." " If he detain thee, Gino, thou wilt wait his pleasure ; and if he dismiss thee at once, return hither with all expedition, that I may know the result." " I very well know, Signer Don Camillo, 44 THE BRAVO. that the honour of a noble is more tender of reproach than that of his followers, and that the stain upon the silken robe of a senator is seen farther than the spot upon a velvet jacket. If any one unworthy of your eccellenza's no tice has dared to offend, here are Giorgio and I, ready, at any time, to shew how deeply we can feel an indignity which touches our master's credit ; but a hireling of two, or ten, or even of a hundred sequins !" " I thank thee for the hint, Gino. Go thou and sleep in thy gondola, and bid Giorgio come into my cabinet." " Signore !" " Art thou resolute to do none of my bid dings ?" " Is it your eccellenza's pleasure that I go to the Bridge of Sighs by the footways of the streets, or by the canals ?" " There may be need of a gondola — thou wilt go with the oar." u . tumbler shall not have time to turn THE BRAVO. 45 round before the answer of Jacopo shall be here." With this sudden change of purpose, the gon dolier quitted the room ; for the reluctance of Gino disappeared the moment he found the confiden tial duty assigned him by his master was likely to be performed by another. Descending rapidly, by a secret stairs, instead of entering the ves tibule, where half a dozen menials of different employments were in waiting, he passed by one of the narrow corridors of the palace into an inner court, and thence by a low and unimpor tant gate into an obscure alley, which commu nicated with the nearest street. Though the age is one of so great activity and intelligence, and the Atlantic is no longer a barrier even to the ordinary amusements of life, a great majority of Americans have never had an opportunity of personally examining the remarkable features of a region, of which the town that Gino now threaded with so much diligence, is not the least worthy of observation. 46 THE BRAVO. Those who have been so fortunate as to have visited Italy, therefore, will excuse us if we make a brief, but what we believe useful, digres sion, for the benefit of those who have not had that advantage. The city of Venice stands on a cluster of low, sandy islands. It is probable that the country which lies nearest to the gulf, if not the whole of the immense plain of Lombardy itself, is of alluvial formation. Whatever may have been the origin of that wide and fertile kingdom, the causes which have given to the Lagunes their existence, and to Venice its unique and pic turesque foundation, are too apparent to be mistaken. Several torrents, which flow from the valleys of the Alps, pour their tribute into the Adriatic at this point. Their waters come charged with the debris of the mountains, pul verized nearly to their original elements. Re leased from the violence of the stream, these particles have necessarily been deposited in the gulf, at the spot where they have first become THE BRAVO. 4<7 subjected to the power of the sea. Under the influence of counteracting currents, eddies, and waves, the sands have been thrown into sub marine piles, until some of the banks have risen above the surface, forming islands, whose eleva tion has been gradually augmented by the decay of vegetation. A glance at the map will shew that, while the Gulf of Venice is not literally, it is, practically, considered with reference to the effect produced by the south-east wind called the Scirocco, at the head of the Adriatic. This accidental circumstance is probably the reason why the Lagunes have a more determined character at the mouths of the minor streams that empty themselves here, than at the mouths of most of the other rivers, which equally flow from the Alps or the Appenines, into the same shallow sea. The natural consequence of the current of a river meeting the waters of any broad basin, and where there is no base of rock, is the for mation, at or near the spot where the opposing 48 THE BRAVO. actions are neutralized, of a bank, which is tech nically called a bar. The coast of the Union furnishes constant evidence of the truth of this theory, every river having its bar, with chan nels, that are;often shifted, or cleared, by the freshets, the gales, or the tides. The constant and powerful operation of the south-eastern winds on one side, with the periodical increase of the Alpine streams on the other, have con verted this bar at the entrance of the Venetian Lagunes, into a succession of long, low, sandy islands, which extend in a direct line, nearly across the mouth of the gulf. The waters of the rivers have necessarily cut a few channels for their passage, or, what is now a lagune, would long since have become a lake. Another thou sand years may so far change the character of this extraordinary estuary, as to convert the channels of the bay into rivers, and the muddy banks into marshes and meadows, resembling those that are now seen for so many leagues inland. THE BRAVO. 49 The low margin of sand that, in truth, gives all its maritime security to the port of Venice and the Lagunes, is called the Lido di Palestrino. It has been artificially connected and secured, in many places, and the wall of the Lido (literally the beach), though incomplete, like most of the great and vaunted works of the other hemisphere, and more particularly of Italy, ranks with the mole of Ancona, and the sea-wall of Cherbourg. The hundred little islands which now contain the ruins of what, during the middle ages, was the mart of the Mediterranean, are grouped together within cannon-shot of the natural barrier. Art has united with nature to turn the whole to good account ; and. apart from the influence of moral causes, the rivalry of a neighbouring town, which has been fostered by political care, and the gradual filling up of the waters, by the constant deposit of the streams, it would be difficult to imagine a more commodious, or a VOL. i. D 50 THE BKAVO. safer haven when entered, than that which Venice affords, even to this hour. As all the deeper channels of the Lagunes have been preserved, the city is intersected, in every direction, by passages, which, from their appearance, are called canals, but which, in truth, are no more than so many small natural branches of the sea. On the margin of these passages, the walls of the dwellings arise lite rally from out of the water, since economy of room has caused their owners to extend their possessions to the very verge of the channel, in the manner that quays and wharfs are pushed into the streams in our own country. In many instances the islands themselves were no more than banks, which were periodically bare, and on all, the use of piles has been necessary to support the superincumbent loads of palaces, churches, and public monuments, under which, in the course of ages, the humble spits of sand have been made to groan. The great frequency of the canals, and per- THE BRAVO. 51 haps some attention to economy of labour, has given to by far the greater part of the buildings the facility of an approach by water. But, while nearly every dwelling has one of its fronts on a canal, there are always communications by the rear with the interior passages of the town. It is a fault in most descriptions, that while the stranger hears so much of the canals of Venice, but little is said of her streets: still, narrow, paved, commodious, and noiseless passages, of this description, intersect all the islands, which communicate with each other by means of a countless number of bridges. Though the hoof of a horse, or the rumbling of a wheel is never heard in these strait avenues, they are of great resort for all the purposes of ordinary inter course. Gino issued into one of these thoroughfares, when he quitted the private passage which com municated with the palace of his master. He threaded the throng by which it was crowded, with a dexterity that resembled the windings of 52 THE BRAVO. an eel, among the weeds of the Lagunes. To the numerous greetings of his fellows, he replied only by nods ; nor did he once arrest his foot steps, until they had led him through the door of a low and dark dwelling, that stood in a quarter of the place which was inhabited by people of an inferior condition. Groping his way among casks, cordage, and rubbish of all descriptions, the gondolier succeeded in finding an inner and retired door, that opened into a small room, whose only light came from a species of well, that descended between the walls of the adjacent houses and that in which he was. " Blessed St. Anne ! Is it thou, Gino Monaldi !" exclaimed a smart Venetian grisette, whose tones and manner betrayed as much of coquetry as of surprise. " On foot, and by the secret door ; is this an hour to come on any of thy errands ?" " Truly, Annina, it is not the season for affairs with thy father, and it is something early for a visit to thee. But there is less time for THE BRAVO. 53 words than for action, just now. For the sake of San Teodoro, and that of a constant and silly young man, who, if not thy slave, is at least thy dog, bring forth the jacket I wore when we went together to see the merry-making at Fusina." " I know nothing of thy errand, Gino, nor of thy reason for wishing to change thy master's livery for the dress of a common boatman. Thou art far more comely with those silken flowers, than in this faded velveteen ; and if I have ever said aught in commendation of its appearance, it was because we were bent on merry making, and being one of the party, it would have been churlish to have withheld a word of praise to a companion, who, as thou knowest, does not dislike a civil speech in his own praise." 66 Zitto, zitto ! here is no merry-making and companions, but a matter of gravity, and one that must be performed off-hand. — The jacket, if thou lovest me ?" Annina, who had not neglected essentials while she moralized on motives, threw the gar- 54) THE BRAVO. ment on a stool, that stood within reach of the gondolier's hand, as he made this strong appeal, in a way to shew that she was not to be sur prised out of a confession of this sort, even in the most unguarded moment. " If I love thee, truly ! Thou hast the jacket, Gino, and thou mayest search in its pockets for an answer to thy letter, for which I do not thank thee for having got the ducats secretary to indite. A maiden should be dis creet in affairs of this sort, for one never knows but he may make a confidant of a rival." " Every word of it as true as if the devil himself had done the office for me, girl," mut- tured Gino, uncasing himself from his flowery vestment, and as rapidly assuming the plainer garment he had sought. " The cap, Annina, and the mask ?" " One who wears so false a face, in common, has little need of a bit of silk to conceal his countenance," she answered, throwing him, not withstanding, both the articles he required. THE BRAVO. 55 " This is well — Father Battista himself, who boasts he can tell a sinner from a penitent merely by the savour of his presence, would never suspect a servitor of Don Camillo Mori- forte in this dress ! Cospetto ! but I have half a mind to visit that knave of a Jew, who has got thy golden chain in pledge, and give him a hint of what may be the consequences, should he insist on demanding double the rate of interest we agreed on." " 'T would be Christian justice ! but what would become of thy matter of gravity the while, Gino, and of thy haste to enter on its performance ?" " Thou sayest truly, girl. Duty, above all other things ; though to frighten a grasping He brew may be as much of a duty as other matters. Are all thy father's gondolas in the water?1' " How else could he be gone to the Lido, and my brother Luigi to Eusini, and the two serving men on the usual business to the islands, or how else should I be alone ?" 00 THE BRAVO. " Diavolo ! is there no boat in the canal ?" " Thou art in unwonted haste, Gino, now thou hast a mask and a jacket of velvet ! I know not that I should suffer one to enter my father's house, when I am in it alone, and take such disguises to go abroad, at this hour. Thou wilt tell me thy errand, that I may judge of the propriety of what I do." " Better ask the Three Hundred to open the leaves of their book of doom ! Give me the key of the outer door, girl, that I may go my way." " Not till I know whether this business is likely to draw down upon my father the dis pleasure of the senate. Thou knowest, Gino, that I am—" " Diamine ! There goes the clock of San Marco, and I tarry past my hour. If I am too late, the fault will rest with thee !" " 'Twill not be the first of thy oversights, which it has been my business to excuse. Here thou art, and here shalt thou remain, until I THE BRAVO. 5J know the errand which calls for a mask and jacket, and all about this matter of gravity."" " This is talking like a jealous wife, instead of a reasonable girl, Annina. I have told thee that I am on business of the last importance, and that delay may bring heavy calamities." " On whom ? — What is thy business ? Why art thou, whom in general it is necessary to warn from this house by words many times repeated, now in such a haste to leave it?" 44 Have I not told thee, girl, 'tis an errand of great concern to six noble families, and if I fail to be in season, there may be a strife — ay, between the Florentine and the republic !" " Thou hast said nothing of the sort, nor do I put faith in thy being an ambassador of San Marco. Speak truth for once, Gino Monaldi, or lay aside the mask and jacket, and take up thy flowers of Sant' Agata." " Well, then, as we are friends, and I have faith in thy discretion, Annina, thou shalt know the truth to the extremity, for I find the bell D 3 58 THE BIIAVO. has only tolled the quarters, which leaves me yet a moment for confidence." " Thou lookest at the wall, Gino, and art consulting thy wits for some plausible lie !" "I look at the wall because conscience tells me that too much weakness for thee is about to draw me astray from duty. What thou takest for deceit is only shame and modesty." " Of that we shall judge, when the tale is told.1' is never light when his own interest is touched." " Thou art not required to utter opinions beyond the present question. This man hath a habit of courting the good-will of his asso ciates, and of making his voice heard concern ing affairs of which none but his superiors may discreetly judge." THE BRAVO. 147 " Signore, he is old, and the tongue grows loose with years." " This is not the character of Antonio. Na ture hath not treated him unkindly ; had his birth and education been equal to his mind, the senate might have been glad to listen — as it is, I fear he speaks in a sense to endanger his own interests." " Surely, if he speak to offend the ear of St. Mark." There was a quick suspicious glance from the senator to the Bravo, as if to read the true meaning of the latter's words. Finding, how ever, the same expression of self-possession in the quiet features he scrutinized, the latter continued as if distrust had not been awa kened. " If, as thou sayest, he so speaks as to injure the republic, his years have not brought discre tion. I love the man, Jacopo, for it is usual to regard, with some partiality, those who have H 2 148 THE BRAVO. drawn nourishment from the same breast with ourselves." " Signore, it is." " And feeling this weakness, in his favour, I would have him admonished to be prudent. Thou art acquainted, doubtless, with his opinions concerning the recent necessity of the state, to command the services of all the youths on the Lagunes in her fleets ?" " I know that the press has taken from him the boy who toiled in his company." " To toil honourably, and perhaps gainfully, in behalf of the republic !" " Signore, perhaps !" " Thou art brief in thy speech to-night, Jacopo ! — But if thou knowest the fisherman, give him counsel of discretion. St. Mark will not tolerate such free opinions of his wisdom. This is the third occasion in which there has been need to repress that fisherman's speech ; for the paternal care of the senate cannot see discontent planted in the bosoms of a class, it is THE BRAVO. 149 their duty and pleasure to render happy. Seek opportunities to let him hear this wholesome truth, for in good sooth, I would not willingly see a misfortune light upon the head of a son of my ancient nurse, and that, too, in the decline of his days." The Bravo bent his body in acquiescence, while the Signor Gradenigo paced the room, in a manner to shew that he really felt concern. " Thou hast had advice of the judgment, in the matter of the Genoese ?" resumed the latter, when another pause had given time to change the current of his thoughts. " The sentence of the tribunals has been prompt, and, though there is much assumption of a dislike between the two republics, the world can now see how sternly justice is consulted on our isles. I hear the Genoese will have ample amends, and that certain of our own citizens will be mulcted of much money." " I have heard the same since the sun set, in the Piazzetta, Signore !" 150 THE BRAVO. " And do men converse of our impartiality, and more than all of our promptitude ? Bethink thee, Jacopo, 'tis but a se'nnight since the claim was preferred to the senate's equity !" " None dispute the promptitude with which the republic visits offences." " Nor the justice, I trust also, good Jacopo. There is a beauty and a harmony in the manner in which the social machine rolls on its course, under such a system, that should secure men's applause ! Justice administers to the wants of society, and checks the passions with a force as silent and dignified, as if her decrees came from a higher volition. I often compare the quiet march of the state, contrasted with the troubled movements of some other of our Italian sisters, to the difference between the clatter of a clamor ous town, and the stillness of our own noiseless canals. Then the uprightness of the late decree is in the mouths of the masquers to-night ?" " Signore, the Venetians are bold when there is an opportunity to praise their masters." THE BRAVO. 151 " Dost thou think thus, Jacopo ? To me they have ever seemed more prone to vent their seditious discontent. But 'tis the nature of man to be niggardly of praise and lavish of censure. This decree of the tribunal must not be suffered to die, with the mere justice of the case. Our friends should dwell on it, openly, in the cafes, and at the Lido. They will have no cause to fear, should they give their tongues a little latitude. A just government hath no jealousy of comment." " True, Signore." " I look to thee and thy fellows to see that the affair be not too quickly forgotten. The contemplation of acts, such as this, will quicken the dormant seeds of virtue in the public mind. He who has examples of equity incessantly before his eyes, will come at last to love the quality. The Genoese, I trust, will depart satisfied ?" " Doubt it not, Signore ; he has all that can 152 THE BRAVO. content a sufferer; his own with usury, and revenge of him who did the wrong." " Such is the decree — ample restoration and the chastening hand of punishment. Few states would thus render a judgment against itself, Jacopo !" " Is the state answerable for the deed of the merchant, Signore ?" " Through its citizen. He who inflicts punishment on his own members, is a sufferer, surely. No one can part with his own flesh without pain ; is not this true, fellow ?" " There are nerves that are delicate to the touch, Signore, and an eye or a tooth is precious ; but the paring of a nail, or the fall of the beard, is little heeded," " One who did not know thee, Jacopo, would imagine thee in the interest of the emperor ! The sparrow does not fall in Venice, without the loss touching the parental feelings of the senate. Well, is there further rumour among the Jews, of a decrease of gold ? Sequins are THE BRAVO. 153 not so abundant as of wont, and the chicanery of that race lends itself to the scarcity, in the hope of larger profits." " I have seen faces on the Rialto, of late, Signore, that look empty purses. The Chris tian seems anxious, and in want, while the un believers wear their gaberdines with a looser air than is usual." " This hath been expected. Doth report open ly name any of the Israelites who are in the cus tom of lending, on usury, to the young nobles r" " All, who have to lend, may be accounted of the class ; the whole synagogue, rabbis, and all, are of a mind, when there is question of a Chris tian's purse." " Thou likest not the Hebrew, Jacopo ; but he is of good service in the republic's straits. We count all friends, who are ready with their gold at need. Still the young hopes of Venice must not be left to waste their substance in unwary bargains with the gainful race, and should st thou hear of any of mark, who are H3 THE BRAVO. thought to be too deeply in their clutches, thou wilt do wisely to let the same be known, with little delay, to the guardians of the public weal. We must deal tenderly with those who prop the state, but we must also deal discreetly with those who will shortly compose it. Hast thou aught to say in the matter ?" " I have heard men speak of Signer Gia- como as paying dearest for their favours." " Gesu Maria ! my son and heir ! Dost thou not deceive me, man, to gratify thine own dis pleasure against the Hebrews ?" " I have no other malice against the race, Signore, than the wholesome disrelish of a Christian. Thus much I hope may be per mitted to a believer, but beyond that, in reason, I carry hatred to no man. It is well known that your heir is disposing freely of his hopes, and at prices that lower expectations might command." " This is a weighty concern ! The boy must be speedily admonished of the consequences, and THE BRAVO. 155 care must be had for his future discretion. The Hebrew shall be punished, and as a solemn warning to the whole tribe, the debt confiscated to the benefit of the borrower. With such an example before their eyes, the knaves will be less ready with their sequins. Holy St. Theo dore ! 'twere self-destruction to suffer one of such promise to be lost for the want of prudent forethought. I will charge myself with the matter, as an especial duty, and the senate shall have no cause to say that its interests have been neglected. Hast thou had applications of late, in thy character of avenger of private wrongs ?" " None of note — there is one that seeks me earnestly, though I am not yet wholly the master of his wishes." " Thy office is of much delicacy and trust, and, as thou art well assured, the reward is weighty and sure." The eyes of the Bravo kindled with an expression which caused his companion to pause. But observing that the repose, for which the features of Jacopo were 156 THE BRAVO. so remarkable, again presided over his pallid face, he continued, as if there had been no interruption ; " I repeat, the bounty and cle mency of the state will not be forgotten. If its justice is stern and infallible, its forgiveness is cordial, and its favours ample. Of these facts I have taken much pains to assure thee, Jacopo. — Blessed St. Mark ! that one of the scions of thy great stock should waste his sub stance for the benefit of a race of unbelievers ! But thou hast not named him who seeks thee, with this earnestness ?" " As I have yet to learn his errand, before I go further, Signore, it may be well to know more of his wishes." " This reserve is uncalled for. Thou art not to distrust the prudence of the republic's ministers, and I should be sorry were the In quisitors to get an unfavourable opinion of thy zeal. The individual must be denounced." " I denounce him not. The most that I can say, is, that, he hath a desire to deal privately THE BRAVO. 157 with one, with whom it is almost criminal to deal at all." " The prevention of crime is better than its punishment, and such is the true object of all government. Thou wilt not withhold the name of thy correspodent ?" " It is a noble Neapolitan, who hath long sojourned in Venice, on matters touching a great succession, and some right, even, to the senate's dignity." " Ha ! Don Camillo Monforte ! Am I right, sirrah?" " Signore, the same !" The pause which followed was only broken by the clock of the great square striking eleven, or the fourth hour of the night, as it is termed, by the usage of Italy. The senator started, consulted a time-piece in his own apartment, and again addressed his companion. " This is well," he said ; " thy faith and punctuality shall be remembered. Look to the fisherman, Antonio; the murmurs of the old 158 THE BRAVO. man must not be permitted to awaken discon tent, for a cause so trifling, as this transfer of his descendant from a gondola to a galley ; and most of all, keep thy ears attentive to any ru mours on the Rialto. The glory and credit of a patrician name must not be weakened by the errors of boyhood. As to this stranger — quick ly, thy mask and cloak — depart as if thou wert merely a friend, bent on some of the idle plea santries of the hour." The Bravo resumed his disguise with the rea diness of one long practised in its use, but with a composure that was not so easily disconcerted as that of the more sensitive senator. The latter did not speak again, though he hurried Jacopo from his presence, by an impatient movement of the hand. When the door was closed and the Signer Gradenigo was again alone, he once more con sulted the time-piece, passed his hand slowly and thoughtfully across his brow, and resumed his walk. For nearly an hour this exercise, or THE BRAVO. 159 nervous sympathy of the body with a mind, that was possibly overworked, continued with out any interruption from without. Then came a gentle tap at the door, and at the usual bid ding, one entered, closely masked, like him who had departed, as was so much the usage of that city, in the age of which we write. A glance at the figure of his guest seemed to apprize the senator of his character, for the reception, while it was distinguished by the quaint cour tesy of the age, was that of one expected. " I am honoured in the visit of Don Camillo Monforte," said the host, while the individual named laid aside his cloak and silken visor; t( though the lateness of the hour had given me reason to apprehend that some casualty had interfered between me and the pleasure." " A thousand excuses, noble senator, but the coolness of the canals, and the gaiety of the square, together with some apprehension of intruding prematurely on time so precious, has, I fear, kept me out of season. But I trust to 160 THE BRAVO. the known goodness of the Signer Gradenigo for my apology." " The punctuality of the great lords of Lower Italy is not their greatest merit," the Signor Gra denigo drily answered. " The young esteem life so endless, that they take little heed of the minutes that escape them ; while we, whom age begins to menace, think chiefly of repairing the omissions of youth. In this manner, Signor Duca, does man sin and repent daily, until the opportunities of doing either are imperceptibly lost. But we will not be more prodigal of the moments than there is need — are we to hope for better views in the Spaniard ?" " I have neglected little that can move the mind of a reasonable man, and I have, in par ticular, laid before him, the advantage of con ciliating the senate's esteem." " Therein have you done wisely, Signore, both as respects his interests and your own. The senate is a liberal paymaster to him who serves it well, and a fearful enemy to those who THE BRAVO. 161 do harm to the state. I hope the matter of the succession draws near a conclusion ?" " I wish it were possible to say it did. I urge the tribunal in all proper assiduity, omit ting no duty of personal respect, nor of private solicitation. Padua has not a doctor more learned than he who presents my right to their wisdom, and yet the affair lingers like life in the hectic. If I have not shewn myself a wor thy son of St. Mark, in this affair with the Spaniard, it is more from the want of a habit of managing political interests, than from any want of zeal." " The scales of justice must be nicely ba lanced to hang so long, without determining to one side or the other ! You will have need of further assiduity, Don Camillo, and of great discretion in disposing the minds of the patri cians in your favour. It will be well to make your attachment to the state be observed, by further service near the ambassador. You are known to have his esteem, and counsel coming 162 THE BRAVO. from such a quarter will enter deeply into his mind. It should also quicken the exertions of so benevolent and generous a young spirit, to know that in serving his country, he also aids the cause of humanity." Don Camillo did not appear to be strongly impressed with the justice of the latter remark. He bowed, however, in courtesy to his compa nion's opinion. " It is pleasant, Signore, to be thus persuaded," he answered ; " my kinsman of Castile is a man to hear reason, let it come from what quarter it may. Though he meets my arguments with some allusions to the declining power of the republic, I do not see less of deep respect for the influence of a state, that hath long made itself remarkable by its energy and will." 44 Venice is no longer what the city of the Isles hath been, Signor Duca ; still is she not powerless. The wings of our lion are a little clipped, but his leap is still far, and his teeth dangerous. If the new-made prince would have THE BRAVO. 163 his ducal coronet sit easily on his brow, he would do well to secure the esteem of his nearest neighbours." " This is obviously true, and little that my influence can do toward effecting the object, shall be wanting. And now, may I entreat of your friendship, advice as to the manner of further urging my own long-neglected claims ?" " You will do well, Don Camillo, to remind the senators of your presence, by frequent ob servance of the courtesies due to their rank and yours." " This do I never neglect, as seemly both in my station and my object." " The judges should not be forgotten, young man, for it is wise to remember that justice hath ever an ear for solicitation." " None can be more assiduous in the duty, nor is it common to see a suppliant so mindful of those whom he troubleth, by more substan tial proofs of respect." " But chiefly should you be particular to 164 THE BRAVO. earn the senate's esteem. No act of service to the state is overlooked by that body, and the smallest good deed finds its way into the recesses of the two councils." " Would I could have communication with those reverend fathers ! I think the justice of my claim would speedily work out its own right." " That were impossible !" gravely returned the senator. " Those august bodies are secret, that their majesty may not be tarnished by com munication with vulgar interests. They rule like the unseen influence of mind over matter, and form, as it were, the soul of the state, whose seat, like that of reason, remains a pro blem exceeding human penetration."